Tech Reports

ULCS-03-023

Mechanising First-Order Temporal Resolution

Abstract

First-order temporal logic is a concise and powerful notation, with many
potential applications in both Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence.
While the full logic is highly complex, recent work on monodic first-order
temporal logics has identified important enumerable and even decidable
fragments. Although a complete and correct resolution-style calculus has
already been suggested for this specific fragment, this calculus involves
constructions too complex to be of a practical value. In this paper, we
develop a machine-oriented clausal resolution method which features radically
simplified proof search. We first define a normal form for monodic formulae
and then introduce a novel resolution calculus that can be applied to formulae
in this normal form. The calculus is based on classical first-order resolution
and can, thus, be efficiently implemented. We prove correctness and
completeness results for the calculus and illustrate it on a comprehensive
example. An implementation of the method is briefly discussed.

For each technical report listed here, copyright and all intellectual property rights remain with the respective authors. Copyright is effective from the year of publication in each case. By downloading a file from this page, you agree to use it only for purposes of research and scholarship. Any other use of this material or storage of it in any medium or its sale or distribution in any form is expressly forbidden without prior written permission from the authors concerned.